Page Two.
THE MICHIGAN
DAILY
Thursday, December 5, 1963
Page Two THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Thur-sd-ayf,-- Decembe-, r5, -1968
dance
A mixed bag of dancing
Decision on tenure for Mayer
raises many academic issues
1
FREE MOVIE!
By ERIKA HOFF
Tuesday night's Dance Studio
Concert was supposed to show
the progress by which "move-
ment becomes dance and a hu-
man being becomes a dancer,"
according to Dr. Esther Pease,
head of the dance department,
who introduced the program.
But it is not necessary to em-
barrass first year students just
to prove that trained dancers
are better than untrained danc-
ers. One semester of dancing,
two hours a week, is not suffi-
cient preparation for the stage.
The beginning dancers per-
formed very badly. This does
not show a lack of goodteach-
ing, but a lack of judgment.
There is no excuse for making
first year students make fools
out of themselves.
The Bolshoi Ballet's "Ballet
School" shows the develop-
ment of a dancer but it does so
by progressing from the simple
to the complex, not by progres-
sing from the crummy to the
accomplished.
The entire production w a s
very unprofessional. Dancers in
leotards mingled with their
friends in the audience before
the performance, blatantly com-
mitting that greatest of crimes
- stage breaking. There is no
justification for having dancers
warming up in the back of the
audience while other dancers
are performing on stage. Warm-
Ing up is a part of a dancer's
preparation just as m u c h as
putting on make-up and getting
into costume. The audience
should not see any of this.
The dancers were n o t ade-
quately rehearsed. They were
obviously unsure. Their danc-
ing was hesitant, and some of
them didn't even know when
they were supposed to be on
stage.
The second semester students
were better but they still were
not ready to perform. The Uni-
versity's dance department is
not a neighborhood ballet school
that has to give everyone a part
in a yearly production in order
to keep the parents paying.
There is no reason to put poor
dancers on stage and drag down
the quality of the entire per-
formance.
The second half of the pro-
gram was performed by mem-
bers of the Theater Dance Tour-
ing Company. This group, di-
rected by Dr. Pease, consists of
dance'majors both graduate and
undergraduate, and has oc-
casionaly included members of
the dance faculty.
The Theater Dance Company
is not a professional group, but
i t s dancing is of professional
caliber. All the choreography is
original and of exceptional
quality.
Dr. Pease describes the group
as "an educational touring com-
pany." They perform around the
state trying to create new ed-
ucated audiences for the dance.
Their "Hollow Women" was a
take-off on sophistication. It
consisted of a series of attitudes
-occasionally broken by con-
fused conversation-and then
the poses were resumed. It was
short and simple. It conveyed a
single idea concisely and clear-
ly.
The use of voices is quite new
and still rare in dance. The
interruption of the dance pat-
tern was, therefore, much great-
er because it was unexpected.
The artificial veneer of sophis-
tication was broken by conver-
sation, but the break incomplete.
What was being said was in-
distinguishable-the break was
meaningless because the sophis-
tication was resumed.
Just as indistinguishable voices
were used to express a lack of
meaning in "Hollow Women,"
a distinguisable voice was used
to emphasize the meaning in
"Anxiety."
"Anxiety" is a search by two
people. They search separately,
they search together, they
search for each other, but with-
out success. At the end of the
dance a voice is heard repeating,
"What can I do, where can I
go?.."
"Comment" is a dance chore-
ographed by Dana Reitz to
music composed by Burton Beer-
man, a teaching fellow in com-
position. The music seems elec-
tronic, with occasional voice
sounds-not clear voices, just
human sounds.
The dance is like moving
sculpture. Two human bodies is
the medium used to create de-
signs and shapes in space. It is
a fantastically difficult under-
taking that wasexcellently ac-
complished.
(Continued from Page 1)
When tenure decisions come due,
the department
effort to get
through written
views.
makes a;
student
and oral
special1
views,
inter-
COSTA RICAN TROPICS:
Universities' group acquires
a piece of the last frontier
Reportedly Mayer didn't fare
too well in those course evalua-
tions. But of the 10 students
taking Sociology 412 this semester,
the five available for comment
last night had nothing but praise
for Mayer and the course.. a
And everyone denied that an
overemphasis on math was a
problem. Some even found it
beneficial,
"I don't have a math back-
ground," James Williams, Grad
said, "It gave me a challenge, it,
introduced me to new concepts.
I enjoyed it for just that reason."
At least as important were the
unofficial aspects of teaching, the
casual relationship with studens
and the help he is known to give.
"He's personally approachable,"
said Barbara Rubinstein, Grad.
"As a teacher he was very helpful
to me," Williams added. "That's
more than you can say for a lot
of professors."
Beyond the question of teaching
Prote--st
at NYUt
T
(Continued from Page 1)
ran to another meeting hall in
the same building where James
Reston, columnist and executive
editor of the New York Times, was
to speak. Both meetings were at
the Loeb Student Center at the
Washington Square campus in
Manhattan.
Chanting "Ho, Ho, Ho, Ho Chi
Minh," the demonstrators pound-
ed on the doors of the hall, then
ran inside and started shouting
epithets, at Reston. t
An NYU alumnus, Morton
Minsky, who was attending the
lecture, said the audience of about
700-most of them adults-shout-
ed at the demonstrators: "Go
home! We don't want to listen!"
The moderator adjourned the
Reston meeting, however, Minsky
said. The diplomat also canceled
his talk.
Police said there were no ar-
rests.
Fall and winter subscription rate:
$4.50 per term by carrier' ($5 by mail),;
$8.00 for regular academic school year
49 by mail).
RAVITZ
Recommends
Student Book Service
1215 S. University
comes publications and scholar- by some things. It was not only
ship, which are not entirely syn- negative by any means."
onomous. The last question - Mayer's'
"Publish or perish was certainly politics - is significant by its ab-
involved," Converse said. Mayer sence. Many students, especially
has not published in his four and in any of the three SDS chapters
a half years here, although he has on campus, thought the move was
five unpublished research papers. more than a little politically moti-
But, unfortunately, his research vated. But faculty members all
r e c o r d is not unquestionably across the spectrum said it wasn't.
strong either. The department One source close to M a y e r
sent all his works out to six men who was very sensitive to t h e
in his field to get evaluations, the threat of political implications in
usual procedure. Half found his the decision said last night,"I
work good. The department usual- know that it wasn't political. The
ly gets better than half, department has not made such
The question of scholarly abil- political decisions."
ity treads farther into the realm In any event, if students do raise
of the confidential than depart- a row over the decision, it is still
ments have liked to tread Mayer's unlikely Mayer would stay. If the
work is approved by some, not by department did change its deci-
others. sion, which is very unlikely, May-
"There were a large number of er probably wouldn't stay because
considerations," Converse said, of the bad feelings engendered by
"The department had been pleased such a clash.
i -~ __ -
"Requiemefor a
Heavyweight "
SATURDAY, DEC. 7
Bursley Cafeteria
8:30 p.m.
WTTO PRESENTS
the association
"Joyous.'"Newsweek.
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"A gem. "-Washington.
"A smash."-Chicago.
"Funny. "-Philadelphia.
"Outstanding."-Boston.
"Impeccable."-Pittsburgh.
"One of the best."
Christian Science Monitor.
"Go see."-National Observer.
"I love it"-NBC.,
11
11
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University of Toledo Field House
Toledo, Ohio
Sunday, December 15
7 P.M.
TICKETS $4.50 3.50 2.50
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Chc
By LORNA CHEROT
The Organization for Tropical
-Studies is in'the land business.
It rents a 1300 acre jungle tract
for $50,000 in the northeastern
part of Costa Rica. It has recently
acquired a dry forest area, Palo
Verde,- in western Costa Rica,
where it rains for six consecutive
months.
But its best purchase was 13
square kilometers in the
Rican lowlands, 20 min.
Costa
from
- inch may'
take post
in cabinet
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (R) -
California Lt. Gov. Robert H.
Finch said yesterday he has de-
cided whether he will accept a
Cabinet post in President-elect
Richard M. Nixon's administra-
tion, but "Any announcement will
have to come from Nixon."
This was an indication that
Finch, 43, would take a Cabinet
job - probably as Secretary of
Health, Education and Welfare -
since he earlier said he would
make an announcement himself if
he decided to stay on as Califor-
nia's No. 2 official.
"I have personally reached a
decision," Finch said in an inter-
view. "I still have some other
things to do in order to implement
that decision." He declined to say
what they were.
Finch said he would be in New
York, the site of Nixon's pre-in-
auguration headquarters, on Mon-
day, the day when Nixon is ex-
pected to begin announcing Cab-
inet appointees.
He said part of the purpose of
his New York trip is to help the
Nixon staff screen potential ap-
pointees for hundreds of sub-Cab-
inet level posts. A longtime close
adviser and friend of Nixon's,
Finch has been active in helping
the President-elect assemble h i s
administration.
Finch acknowledged that a
Cabinet post had been offered.
Otherwise, he said, there would
be no need to make a decision. He
said there had been discussion of
another Cabinet job other t h a n
HEW, but Finch declined to name
the post.
THURSDAY and FRIDAY
MOROCCO
Directed by
Joseph von Sternberg
Puerto Viejo for one colon (12c)!
Stephen B. Preston, executive
director of OTS, explained the
land purchasing as a part of a
program offering grad and doc-
torate students an opportunity to
do field work in the Tropics of
Central America. Field stations
are also located in Guatamala,
Panama, and Honduras.
When asked about the health
hazards involved by spending eight
weeks in the Tropics, Preston
shrugged it aside as the least of
the students' worry. Aside from
diseases contracted by the bites of
venomous snakes, most foreign
maladies can be vaccinated
against.
Preston described the Tropics as
the last frontier where new ad-
vances can be made in the bio-
logical sciences, particularly ma-
rine biology. Preston would like
to see the organization's work ex-
panded so that it can conduct
additional studies in new fields.
OTS is a consortium of 24 uni-
versities created to promote an
understanding of tropical environ-
ments and their intelligent use by
man. It is primarily an educa-!
tional organization, working with
the University of Costa Rica, of-
fering majors in the biological
sciences, social sciences, earth and
atmospheric sciences, ecology, ge-
ography, forestry, conservation,
and wildlife fisheries studies a
chance to do valuable research in
their respective fields.
But like similar operations of
its magnitude and scope, OTS
suffers from a lack of sufficient
funds. It presently operates on a
$700,000 grant from the Ford
Foundation, 600,000 designed to
cover a three year span, from the
National Science Association, and
$2000 from each member in dues.
Preston estimated that a 30 per
cent annual increase in grants
over present allotments would be
necessary just to administer its
current programs.
One-third more in additional
Salla Gralla
Grooves at
Student Book Service
1215 S. University
funds over present appropriations
would enable the organization to
operate comfortably. Attempts are
being, made to procure grants
from the Rockefeller Foundation,
the Carnegie Institute, and in-
dustry. But Preston dismissed the
idea that OTS would have to ter-f
minate its work due to financial
difficulties.
Competition for admission into
the February-March, July-Augusta
semesters is very keen and wide-
spread. There are applicants from
as many as 111 universities. OTS3
encourages foreign students, par-
ticularly Latin Americans, to ap-
ply. Preston added that womeng
are greatly 'welcomed in what is
a predominantly male endeavor.
There are only openings for 30
students during the winter term,
12 during the spring, and 60 for
the summer. Candidates will be
chosen by an appointed committee
of three faculty members, with
Preston making the final decision.
All accepted students become elig-
ible for financial, assistance either
in the form of fellowship grants
or government research assistance
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